We now live in the wonderful age of affordable digital photography. The camera quality is incredible and intense competition has allowed one to obtain an exceptional camera with lens for well under $1,000.00. (Be forewarned, photography is an addiction much like koi keeping)
This page contains rudimentary information targeted at the budding photographer
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Digital camera sales are growing so their is an abundance of models and choices to confound. Although there are a lot of great cameras out there, I would suggest a short list of two names - Canon and Nikon. These companies build great cameras so you can't go wrong with either. In danger of over simplification, the consensus is Canon has better lenses and image quality, while Nikon a better build and ergonomics. Of course your mileage will vary and its best to get some hands on time before you decide which is right for you |
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Nikon's D3, not yet available (as of this writing) has Nikons first full-frame sensor which is purported to produce stunning image quality |
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Canon's 30D is a great camera which has just been updated with the release of the 40D. |
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Clarke and I instantly connected when I helped him build his pond. He has just purchased a Nikon D40x and used it on our recent trip to Ray Abel's Koi Harvest |
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Exposure, Focus & Composition
Great photo's all have several things in common. One is the proper exposure, another is tack sharp images and of course, composition will make a break a photo. Telling a story and have a defined point of interest are key. If you master and combine these skill sets, all that is required then is to apply the law of averages. With digital cameras this is easy and inexpensive - shoot as many photo's as you possibly can and some will have to be great. Of course this is somewhat tongue in cheek, however, practice will allow you to produce more keepers
Exposure
Manually setting ISO, TV and AV is better than letting the camera take control. Proper white balancing and shooting in Shutter or Aperture priority is important and necessary to really got those "WoW" shots. Exposure is a function of shutter speed, ISO setting and Aperture. A good camera will have a histogram (graphical exposure display) which you should refer to after each shot. "Expose the the right" is general advice when dealing with the histogram and you should invest some time reading about histograms as they are invaluable
Shutter speed will dictate how long the aperture stays open. Waterfalls for example, would often be shot at slower shutter speeds of 1/4 second of slower. Sports need to be shot at at least 1/250th of a second or better yet 1/500th. - expect blurry images without fast shutter speeds. A general rule is to set a shutter speed the reciprocal of your focal length. If you are zoomed in to 135 mm, your shutter speed should be 1/135th
of a second which translates into 1/160th. (as there is not 1/135th setting)
ISO is the speed of the sensor or the time it takes to image the light. ISO settings will often be set higher in situations with low light. The downside is, the higher the ISO, the more noise (grain) you will see in your photos. Newer cameras are always improving the sensor so that clean images can be captured at 800 and 1600 ISO settings
The last component of exposure is the Aperture. The wider the aperture is open, the greater its light gathering ability. However, this is at the cost of depth of field. Portraits are often shot at a 2.8 F-stop or wider aperture setting which will blur the background. Focusing is trickier as the aperture opens up. At smaller apertures or F-stops (ie F11, f16, f22 etc) the range of focus or depth of field increases. This is great for landscape photography when you want everything in focus - foreground and background. Remember, lenses have sweet spots, usually 3 or so stops from fully open so shooting with settings like 5.6, 7.1, and 8 will usually give the sharpest shots
Shutter Speed, ISO and Aperture are all interrelated. If you are to progress in the hobby, these relationships need to be fully understood. For example, if the shutter speed goes up, the Aperture and/or ISO must be adjusted to obtain a proper exposure. In this case, the Aperture would have to open up more (F-stop number goes down ie f8 - f5.6) and/or the ISO would have to go up to compensate for the shutter being open for a shorter period of time. Once again, a wider aperture allows more light in and the faster ISO setting (400, 800) captures this light faster. Remember you can't always have it all. In other words, a 1/320 th. shutter speed with a F8 and 100 ISO setting is going to be available in good lighting conditions only. If one of the settings needs to be adjusted to obtain the proper exposure, ISO is usually my choice. It adds noise but at least I can have a sharp photo with the range of elements in focus that I'm aiming for
For one more practical example, lets say we were photographing a wide landscape shot where we would require everything to be in focus. This means the aperture would have to be closed down allowing less light in but great depth of field (F11+). As a result of this, less light is getting to the sensor. The shutter speed and/or ISO would need to compensate. With shutter speed, it would have to slow down (1/40th perhaps) as being open longer will allow more light in. Likewise, the ISO could be raised to capture that light more quickly. Again, the goal for ISO is to always keep it low (100 or 200) but available light will not always allow this
Remember, photographers will manipulate all these setting to achieve the desired effect whether it be a blurred image or shallow depth of field with great bokeh. Of course these technical skills need to be mastered, but at the end of the day, good photography requires a lot of effort, great patience and analytical practice. Additionally, you must know your camera's settings and capabilities backwards and forwards
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This 2 second exposure at F29 gives a nice effect. First, the Depth of field is wide because of the aperture being closed down. Second, the waterfalls has a flowing effect because of the longer shutter speed or time value (Tv) |
Shot at 1/100th F6.3, the shutter speed captures a blurred water splash. This gives the effect of motion that a higher shutter speed of 1/250th. would not |
Although shot at F11 and a Tv of 1/160th, this image exhibits an out of focus background. To blur it even more, the F-stop could have been set at F4 or less |
Shot at 1/60, F7.6 and an ISO of 475, this may not be the best example of noise, but under closer scrutiny, I'm sure some can be found on the back stones. This was taken with a Lumix camera |
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Glass is everything. It is best to invest in good lenses from the start. Remember, you are only paying the difference to obtain great glass over mediocre glass. The total cost of ownership is often higher at the end of the day is you buy cheaper lenses and equipment at the beginning and ultimately replace it down the road
Basic Lenses designations include Prime and Zoom. Prime lenses have a set focal point (ie. 50 mm) and you are unable to zoom in or out with them. They do however, provide the sharpest photo's and are available from fisheye 8 mm all the way up to 600 mm or more
Zoom lenses will allow you to change your field of view. Common focal lengths include 17-50mm, 24-105mm, 70-200mm, 100-400mm etc. A great walk around lens which I have is the Canon "L" F4 24-105. It is decent for wider angles and can zoom in well enough for many applications. If you were shooting people indoors in tight quarters, a 17mm lens would be good while a sporting event might require a 400mm capable lens like the Canon "L" 100-400mm F4-5.6 so you can get close to the action
Canon has the most lens options and you should consider its famed "L" lenses which are fantastic with exceptional optics and build quality. If you ever notice photographers row at a sporting event, most of them have white "L" lenses which is not a coincidence
It is worthwhile to invest in the anti-vibration lenses that are now available from all the major players. These allow sharp hand held photo's at lower shutter speeds (as long at the subject is static). Another huge factor is the lens speed. A lower F-stop rating means faster auto focusing, better performance in lower light and more dramatic bokeh (background blur)
Good zoom lenses will have a F2.8 or F4.0 rating which will not change throughout the zoom. Lesser quality zooms will generally have an increasing F-stop as you zoom in making them "slower" as they can't gather as much light . Again, you need to compensate by increasing ISO (adding noise) or decreasing shutter speed (shutter is open longer risking blurriness) to get a good exposure
Without top notch fast glass, the quality of your photo's will suffer and you may miss out on shots completely |
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A tripod is a must have item if you are to capture sharp images with slower shutter speeds. This includes landscape and flashless indoor photos where the light is typically poor. There are a lot of cheap tripods on the market and many people have 3-4 of these in their closets. Try to buy a good tripod from the start. I personally have a gitzo which cost 10x more than my other tripods but it is rock solid, lightweight and feature rich. Bogen and Manfrotto are other top brands you should consider. Good tripods start at $ 500 |
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To get worthwhile results, a tripod must be used. Shutter speed of 1/4, 1/8, 1/2 etc, are good starting points. The slower the shutter, the greater the blur of the water. Also key, is using mirror lock up and a remote trigger or camera timer. These will minimize vibrations and achieve the sharpest photos possible. As you are slowing down the shutter speed, a lot more light is being let in. Even closing down the aperture (F22, F29 etc) and setting the ISO to 100, may still yield an overexposed photograph. The use of a polarizer will not only reduce the exposure by 3 stops, it also accentuates colour and reduces reflection on the water. Although expensive, they are an essential investment for this type of photography
To take better photo's, avoid the typical "snapshot". Try different angles, incorporate foreground interest points like flowers or stone etc. and mix up the composition. Get high, get low - get inventive
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Shot at 1/5th of a second, the water is not as fluid as the right shot, which is at a 2 second Tv |
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Until you've tried to capture an image yourself, there is a not a lot of appreciation for a good koi photograph. For the fish yes, for the technical merits of the photo, not often. Koi are reticent to pose and in fact, often seem to avoid the camera. A lot of patience is required just to wait for the fish to be at the right angle and have its fins displayed just so. Even lighting is key and a polarizer is a no brainier. A flash can help minimize glare too
Bubblers and surface debris quickly ruin whatever composition you have captured so these need to be dealt with. Portrait orientation is the only way to shoot, and having the fish at a slight angle through the image delivers a more aesthetic shot. Unless you are fortunate, just getting a half way decent shot could take 10 minutes of standing and shooting - patience is key
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In terms of even lighting, this is the best photograph, However, the fishes pec fins and tail are in awkward positions |
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You can really see what this fish is about in this photo. Being dead straight on though doesn't look very good. Again, those pec fins, which need to be judged, are not readily visible |
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I love the angle of this fish and the pec fins are just about perfect. If the shot was taken a little more to the left we could see the other side of the face better. Surface debris really detracts |
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In regards to framing and judging the fish, this is a good photograph to go on, with exception of the pecs |
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I love this photo and the fish. Surface turbulence ruins it though and the reflections also hinder |
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